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Services to help prevent young people from offending in Scotland have been given 50 per cent extra funding over the next two years.

Local authorities and their partners will receive an increase in funding for youth justice services from £10 million pounds to £15 million by 2005-06 to step up their work.

Cathy Jamieson, the Scottish Executive Justice Minister, said the increased investment would help local authorities achieve a range of national targets, including reducing the number of persistent young offenders in Scotland by 10%.

She said, "There is no single solution to tackling and reducing youth crime. That is why the Scottish Executive is already providing funding for a range of local measures - from prevention and early intervention programmes to the most intensive and robust methods of supervision.”

The investment is designed to help local authorities achieve a range of national targets in youth justice - including reducing the number of these persistent young offenders in Scotland by 10 per cent.

Jamieson said that  investment in services for youth offenders meant that the Scotland now had 3,000 places on restorative youth justice programmes.

Places already exist on schemes for 1,250 young people involved in offending. There are three pilots for fast-track court hearings and a pilot youth court in South Lanarkshire.

The additional cash means Argyll and Bute will receive £183,633; East Ayrshire £396,502; East Dunbartonshire £170,554; East Renfrewshire £158,334; North Ayrshire £500,970; North Lanarkshire £1,074,871; Renfrewshire £570,956; South Ayrshire £263,048; South Lanarkshire £822,812; West Dunbartonshire £416,335.